Kiddushin, Daf Nun Heh, Part 3

Introduction

Today s sugya continues to discuss whether R. Meir holds that things that have intrinsic sanctity can be desacralized.

אימר דשמעת ליה לרבי מאיר בקדשי קדשים בקדשים קלים מי שמעת ליה

Say that you heard R. Meir to hold this in the case of things with the highest sanctity; do you know him [to hold this view] in respect to lower sanctity?

This difficulty is raised against R. Oshaya who said that according to R. Meir if one finds an animal near Jerusalem he can redeem it and use the money to buy a peace-offering. A peace-offering is a sacrifice of lower sanctity. But we only know that R. Meir said this about something that is of the highest sanctity. Do we know that he said this about sacrifices of lower sanctity.

א"ל ההוא מרבנן ורבי יעקב שמיה קל וחומר קדשי קדשים מתחללים קדשים קלים לא כל שכן

One of the Rabbis said to him [the questioner], and R. Jacob is his name: It follows from a kal vehomer: If objects of the higher sanctity can be desacralized, surely those of the lower sanctity can be!

The argument here is pretty straightforward. If R. Meir holds that items of higher sanctity can be desacralized, all the more so items of lower sanctity.